Allowance and how to spend it

All of my kids get allowance not because they should be paid for helping around the house or getting good grades; that's not what it is. They help around the house because they're responsible for taking care of where they live and they get good grades because that's what they're supposed to do. They get allowance because it helps them learn about money. So at our house they get allowance; they have to put some, they have to split it into three. One part of it goes towards spending, whatever they want to spend it on. One part goes toward saving; they have to put it into a savings account, they have savings accounts at the bank, they have specific savings jars at home so they understand the importance of saving money. And then the third is for charity, and they have to put a third of their allowance into a jar and then at the end of the year they get to choose how they want to use it to help others. And that's so that as they grow older, they understand how to use money, and understand that the importance of money and the importance of the different ways that you use it. And every child deserves those lessons; it's not a lesson that you have to give them. They deserve that. They deserve to learn how to handle money. And the way that you do that is by giving them allowance.

Denene Millner

Author & Founder of MyBrownBaby.com

New York Times best-selling author Denene Millner is a hotly sought after award-winning journalist whose insightful and captivating pieces have secured her foothold in the entertainment, parenting and book publishing industries. Millner spent the last decade working as a columnist, contributing editor and blogger for Parenting, a national magazine for which she provided witty, engaging, mom-to-mom advice on ethics and etiquette in everything from childrearing and marriage to work and friendship. Currently, she also is the founder and editor of MyBrownBaby.com, a critically acclaimed, award-winning blog that examines parenting and motherhood through the multi-cultural experience. Millner frequently contributes as an entertainment writer for Essence, the most well-read and respected magazine for African American women, and has written for a plethora of national publications and prestigious websites, including Parenting, Health, Ebony, Jet, Heart & Soul, Real Health, Money, iVillage, Parenting.com, TodayMoms, and The Root, among others. Her extensive television experience includes regular appearances on the The Today Show, CBS Early Show, The Nate Berkus Show, HLN, CNN, MSNBC, VH1, and the Rachel Ray show.Millner also is the author of 21 books. The former political reporter and entertainment journalist lives in the Atlanta area with her husband and their two daughters.

All of my kids get allowance not because they should be paid for helping around the house or getting good grades; that's not what it is. They help around the house because they're responsible for taking care of where they live and they get good grades because that's what they're supposed to do. They get allowance because it helps them learn about money. So at our house they get allowance; they have to put some, they have to split it into three. One part of it goes towards spending, whatever they want to spend it on. One part goes toward saving; they have to put it into a savings account, they have savings accounts at the bank, they have specific savings jars at home so they understand the importance of saving money. And then the third is for charity, and they have to put a third of their allowance into a jar and then at the end of the year they get to choose how they want to use it to help others. And that's so that as they grow older, they understand how to use money, and understand that the importance of money and the importance of the different ways that you use it. And every child deserves those lessons; it's not a lesson that you have to give them. They deserve that. They deserve to learn how to handle money. And the way that you do that is by giving them allowance.